Jehiel munson



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JEHIEL MUNSON, OF BURLINGTON, VERMONT.

COMPOSITION FOR PASTE FOR A TTACHING THE COVERINGS T0 PIANO-FORTEHAMMERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 28,768, dated June 19,1850.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JEHIEL MUNsoN, ofBurlington, in the county of ()hittenden and State of Vermont, haveinvented a new and useful Composition or Paste for Securing LeatherCoverings upon the Face of Piano- Forte Hammers, the object andcomposition of which are truly and justly set forth, explained, anddescribed as follows:

In order to secure softness of tone in pianos, it is usual to glue overthe striking end or face of the hammer a piece of felt, and this iscovered with leather in most instruments, in order to protect the feltfrom being cut by the strings. The leather is brought over the felt, andthe ends are fastened by glue to the sides of the hammer-head. It is notglued to the felt on the end or face of the h ammer, because the glue,when cold, would form a stiff coat over the felt, which would not yieldto the string. The benefit of the feltwould be entirely lost inconsequence, and the sound would be no better than if the string werestruck with wood covered with a similar coat of leather. On the otherhand, the leather, being confined only at the ends, is apt to becomeloose over the face of the hammer, and the sound suffers in a verydifferent way, being much as if the string were struck with a looseleather bag. To obviate this difficulty I prepare an adhesive paste,with which the leather covering may be attached to the felt over theentire face of the hammer, and which remains perfectly flexible, offersno sensible resistance to the string, and in no way impairs the actionof the felt but the tone remains as soft as if the string were struck bythe felt alone. This paste or composition is prepared by mix ing sixounces of wheat-flour, two ounces of isinglass, one ounce of gum-arabic,and half an ounce of common glue. They are tobe dissolved in watersufiicient to make astiff paste, and to be soaked in the water longenough to effect aperfect solution of the materials, and then scalded.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isthe following:

1. The composition, from the materials and in the manner abovedescribed, of an adhesi vc composition or paste.

2. The application of such paste for the pur-- pose of attaching, to thewhole face of the felt with which piano-forte hammers are usuallycovered, the leather by which they are protected from the action of thestrings.

J EHIEL MUNSON.

\Vitnesses:

S. H. 110mm, '1. E. \VALEs.

